Louisiana-based boatbuilder Metal Shark has been awarded a United States Coast Guard Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract to build a patrol boat for Cameroon‘s maritime forces, the company announced on 12 October 2026. The contract covers the supply of an 11.6-metre Metal Shark 38 Defiant patrol boat, a transport trailer, a spare-parts package and operator training, and the vessel will be built at Metal Shark’s production facility in Jeanerette, Louisiana.
Cameroon is a new market for Metal Shark, the company’s Senior Vice President of International Business Development, Henry Irizarry, said. He added that Metal Shark is proud to support partner nations in strengthening maritime security, operational readiness and mission effectiveness. Metal Shark announced a second Coast Guard FMS contract for a patrol boat for Georgia on the same day, Baird Maritime reported.
A $1.197 million contract
The contract is worth $1.197 million, according to the US federal contracting publication GovTribe, or about CFA691 million. Federal records show it was awarded to Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC, which trades as Metal Shark, as a firm-fixed-price order after three bids were received. It began at $1.144 million, and an amendment dated 24 September 2026 added about $53,000 for further spare parts. The contract runs until 31 August 2027, although the records do not say when Cameroon will receive the boat, Business in Cameroon reported. The figure is the value of the contract to the American builder, not necessarily the total cost of the government-to-government agreement.
Under the FMS system, the US government buys equipment on behalf of a partner country and manages the contract, with the US Coast Guard acting as the procuring agency for small patrol craft. Neither Metal Shark nor the US authorities have said which Cameroonian service will operate the boat or how the purchase is funded.
The 38 Defiant
The welded aluminium 38 Defiant is described as a proven military and law-enforcement patrol platform designed to support coastal patrol, maritime interdiction, port security, search and rescue and other security missions. “Initially proven in service with the US Navy and US Coast Guard, Metal Shark’s 38 Defiant platform is now operated by US partner nations across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East,” the company said.
“The vessel combines high-speed performance and responsive manoeuvrability with Metal Shark’s signature Defiant-series pilothouse, which provides enhanced visibility and all-weather crew protection. The adaptable platform may be configured with multiple propulsion arrangements and mission-specific equipment to meet a broad range of mission profiles.”
According to Metal Shark’s specifications, the 38 Defiant is 11.6 metres long overall, with a beam of 3.36 metres, a draught of 0.76 metres and fuel capacity of 1,514 litres. Various powerplant options are available, including inboard diesels or multiple outboards. Twin Cummins 6.7-litre diesels driving Hamilton 292 waterjets give a top speed of about 40 knots, while triple 300 horsepower outboards give up to 50 knots. The vessel may be equipped with an open bow or a forward cuddy cabin, and the pilothouse may be shortened for operators who want an even larger aft cockpit than the standard layout.
More than 70 partner forces
Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard said maritime security is taking on greater strategic importance worldwide. “Metal Shark is well positioned to meet that demand, and we remain focused on expanding our global reach, entering new markets, and delivering long-term value to the United States and its partner nations.”
“With over 70 US partner nation military forces now operating Metal Shark vessels, these awards further expand the company’s established role in supporting maritime forces worldwide,” Metal Shark added. The company has delivered well over 2,000 vessels to date, including to Benin, Djibouti, Senegal, Kenya, Cabo Verde and Morocco. Military Africa has reported on Defiant-series boats that US Africa Command donated to Senegal and Cabo Verde and Metal Shark boats donated to the Kenyan Navy in 2018, as well as the Moroccan Navy’s ten Metal Shark patrol boats in 2022 and further deliveries to Morocco in 2023.
A navy built for coasts and creeks
Cameroon’s navy is relatively well equipped to secure the country’s oil installations and prevent maritime crime, and is optimised for coastal and river patrol, especially in light of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. It operates around 40 coastal, inshore and river patrol craft as well as several combat patrol vessels, and has worked with the United States before: in 2020, Washington approved Cameroon’s request for two 110-foot Island-class patrol boats, and the same year the navy acquired a Chinese floating dock to maintain its fleet.
Maritime security cooperation has grown this year. Cameroon hosted the US-led Obangame Express 2026 exercise in April, signed a border and maritime security pact with Nigeria in June, and saw US forces return to the country with a focus on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. In July, the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), the elite unit that patrols Cameroon’s coast and the Bakassi peninsula, opened a new base at the Port of Douala, partly in response to the wave of pirate attacks on vessels off Cameroon in 2010 and 2011, local media reported.
Patrolling the Bight of Biafra
A single 38 Defiant will not change the balance at sea, but it fits the job Cameroon’s forces do most: fast, short-range interdiction in the creeks, estuaries and offshore oil fields between Douala, Limbe and Bakassi, where piracy, smuggling and illegal fishing overlap. Its operator training and spares package, delivered through the FMS system, may matter as much as the hull, given how often small patrol craft in the region have been sidelined by maintenance problems. If the first boat performs well, the Coast Guard route used here offers Yaoundé a straightforward way to add more.